Tonight was blogger night at Nationals Park, in which several Washington Nationals bloggers were invited to meet with Nats players and executives, visit the field for batting practice, then report on tonight’s game vs. the Toronto Blue Jays from the Nationals Park press box.

Racing president Teddy Roosevelt joined Stan Kasten for a lively Q&A before heading down to warm up for the evening’s presidents race. Kasten has historically expressed confidence in Teddy, but admitted tonight that the “sprinting may simply not be his event.”

Tonight’s presidents race featured a new twist: Blue Jays fans Tim Williams and Joe Ferrell, who wear MajorLeague Baseball Umpire uniforms and mock the home plate umpire throughout Toronto home games, sat in the first row behind the Nationals Park home plate throughout tonight’s game except for the 4th-inning race, when they took over for usual judge Screech at the presidents race finish line.

Coming out of the gate, Abe Lincoln got off to an uncharacteristically slow start, running just behind Teddy as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson sprinted ahead. The two presidents appeared headed for a photo finish, but George collapsed just before the finish line. George then appeared to accuse Jefferson of foul play, and was summarily ejected by the “umpires” for arguing.

As for blogger night, it was a great treat to cover tonight’s game and file this report from the press box, and to meet other members of the “Natosphere” (I sat next to Brian Markham from Nationals Review throughout the game). The Nationals blogger community is robust and growing. Kudos to Kasten and the Nats for embracing the team’s most outspoken fans.